In mobile telecommunications networks, it is necessary for subscriptions to be set up before they can be put it use, that is before they are activated. Setting up a subscription is referred to as “provisioning” and involves creating a complete subscription which is active in the relevant network database/register, e.g. a Home Location Register (HLR). Prior to being an active (or complete) subscription, a subscription is also called a provisional subscription or a pre-provisioned subscription. It is typical for a significant number of subscribers to a wireless network service to be pre-paid subscribers with the others being post-paid subscribers. Network operators use methods of pre-provisioning of subscriptions to create the subscriptions in the network system before they are handed over to subscribers to enable flexible SIM card delivery via appropriate retail chains. This means that subscribers need to be pre-provisioned in Core Elements of mobile telecommunications networks as well as in Service Elements of mobile telecommunications networks before the SIM card (Subscriber Identity Module card) can actually be used for the first time in the network. In a mobile network, storage of subscriber-related data is costly due to associated fees like license fees, hardware requirements and system performance requirements. Most operators of mobile telecommunications networks pre-provision the Home Location Register (HLR) with a default profile as part of the logistics/supply-chain of SIM cards. Pre-provisioning means the main parts (at least the required identities and the authentication data) of a subscription are created in the network, either in a back-end repository or even directly in an HLR. The subscription data is valid but the subscription is not yet active, i.e. the subscription is provisional. An example is described, e.g., in European Patent Application EP 2 114 063 A1.
Conventional systems and methods require a routing node (typically called an STP or SRR) to route the messages related to pre-provisioned inactive subscribers to a pre-provisioning system/center for the purpose of provisioning the subscriber in the commercial HLR/HSS and the Service Nodes. A routing node contains a database that maps the IMSI of active subscribers to the correct HLR/HSS. In this way the routing node is able to route the messages for active subscribers to the HLR that contains subscription data of that specific subscriber.
Such a routing node can also be extended by a second database containing IMSIs of pre-provisioned not yet active subscribers. The IMSIs for these subscribers are then mapped to a pre-provisioning system/center. Messages related to pre-provisioned not yet active subscribers can then be routed to a pre-provisioning system/center (e.g., as described in WO 2002/098156 A1, US 2006/058028 or WO 2009/053918 A2) or a system that combines HLR functionality with a provisioning capability (e.g., as described in WO 2004/028191 A1).
According to other conventional methods and systems, the Home Location Register (HLR) is required to perform additional operations compared to the standard Home Location Register (HLR). This requires development efforts and associated costs on existing Home Location Register (HLR) platforms. Such a modification is costly as a multitude of existing interfaces between existing network entities would need to be modified and kept up to date. Furthermore, conventional solutions related to pre-provisioning are restricted to the pre-provisioning of the Home Location Register (HLR), i.e. the pre-provisioning of the Home Subscriber Server (HSS) and other service nodes (e.g. IN/SCP) are not addressed.
Most conventional systems and methods require storing subscriber information related to pre-provisioned subscribers on the pre-provisioning center. Furthermore, conventional systems and methods require the routing node to inform the pre-provisioning center/system to provision the HLRs if a subscriber becomes active on the network.
Some conventional systems and methods even require the provisioning of provisional subscriber information both on a routing node as well as on a pre-provisioning system/center.
Some conventional systems and methods provide a temporary restricted service as part of the provisioning process after the subscriber attempts to access the network for the first time. Other conventional systems and methods require the subscriber to switch-off and switch on the device to complete the provisioning process.